[3] [5] [7]
I'm getting a bit worried that I haven't been able to experiment with different styles as I wanted to, and I realised that it's because I'm starting to hit a brick wall in terms of inspiration. To help "cure" this I went onto as many websites I could and started to collect lots of images of letterpress posters. This is because during my research on the Industrial Revolution in my previous year I pointed out that people were very interested in an assortment of decorative type, most notably "3D" type, Egyptian and Fat Faces.
I'm getting a bit worried that I haven't been able to experiment with different styles as I wanted to, and I realised that it's because I'm starting to hit a brick wall in terms of inspiration. To help "cure" this I went onto as many websites I could and started to collect lots of images of letterpress posters. This is because during my research on the Industrial Revolution in my previous year I pointed out that people were very interested in an assortment of decorative type, most notably "3D" type, Egyptian and Fat Faces.
My collection is all on my pinterest board, Typography, but I've included some images below on the ones that I find most inspirational.
Inspirational Posters
Inspirational Posters
I'm hoping to feature a quote in some sort of banner, and I've mentioned in a post that I would like to try out different banners styles. This poster is a perfect example of type on a banner so I'm giving it a special mention so that I could always refer back to it if I'm stuck.
However I find that each sentence is broken up and I find myself pausing after reading each banner. If it had just been one banner with different twists and turns then the writing would've flowed a lot better. I shall take note of this when I develop my design!
The breaks created could, on the other hand, make it easier for the viewer to read the advertisement. If this poster was indeed on display during the Industrial Revolution most of the public were unable to read very well and so this makes it more readable for them.
Unlike the chalk boards I have previously analysed, there is a variety of typestyles on this set of banners; I can see quite a fair amount of serifs, and this is quite unusual because the designs on banners I have looked at before mostly used sans serif. This might be due to the trends occurring during the time of this poster as they loved mixing up type styles and serifs.
They've also created a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, and this makes the design look slightly clumsy because I can't figure out if it's a way of highlighting a specific word to make it seem more prominent or if it's just for aesthetic appeal. The ones that are fully made up of uppercase letters look 'shouty' and loud, and even though I have used quite a lot of uppercase letters I made it appear soft, but here most of the type have a rigid structure and sharp edges. Some of the type flows a lot better such as "artist" as it is slightly cursive and italic, bending with the banner, but "oil and watercolours" is very 'strong'.
Conclusion:
What I do like about the type though despite it's chaotic appearance is that they curve parallel to the curve of the banner so that it does look as if it's printed on it rather than just having the type float atop of it. This shows a blend of both illustration and type, as both are closely tied together.
Unfortunately I was unable to find out who was the original design behind this piece, so if anyone knows who it is please let me know! I hate not being able to find the right reference, so for now I've just linked the place where I found it from.
Letterpress is still quite popular in the design industry, and here's an example of a fairly recent poster design that advertises Pedro's Meatball Subs done in 2012.
Like in the previous poster design, they've also mixed together multiple type styles although here they seem to all appear quite similar. The cap height is relatively tall and the width relatively small, making the letterforms with these characteristics very elongated. The few without these characteristics look squashed in comparison and are at a larger size to match the width of these "tall" letters. This makes the "squashed" ones appear quite dominant as they are filled in with a single colour, providing a strong structure as it almost grants support to the "tall" ones. This is emphasised by the words being aligned on both sides.
Almost everything is in uppercase which makes this one a lot easier to read because the general 'tone' is the same. It's quite loud from the use of uppercase, mimicking the call from the trader as they announce their stall to passers-by in hopes of persuading them to buy their food. They start off soft by the use of a cursive type, then loud, then soft at some of the small phrases, loud at highlighted words, then end with a soft tone by using the cursive type again.
The colour scheme is fairly consistent as they have stuck with three colours; red, black and cream. This only persuades me even more to limit my design to only three colours. Red seems like a popular colour choice... Maybe it's because it's so bold and "outgoing"?
Conclusion:
I like this strong structure and the use of similar typefaces with only subtle details to set them apart. Even though my quote wouldn't be long enough for such a structure I can take inspiration by the letterforms themselves, especially the "tall" ones and the ones with shading.
Speaking of colours, they are all quite soft because of the fact that they are the muted versions. The grey isn't a dark grey but more of a white-grey mixture, and they've used a limited colour palette. The use of muted greys and reds makes the white background appear less harsh than it would do but creates a somewhat "glow", much like snow.
Conclusion:
I love the way they've decorated their letterforms and would like to do something similar in my design, as I wouldn't want it to be too bold. The use of muted colours reflect the softness of snow and I could use a similar technique in my design to reflect the soothing effect tea has on the drinker.
Other Inspirational Posters
However I find that each sentence is broken up and I find myself pausing after reading each banner. If it had just been one banner with different twists and turns then the writing would've flowed a lot better. I shall take note of this when I develop my design!
The breaks created could, on the other hand, make it easier for the viewer to read the advertisement. If this poster was indeed on display during the Industrial Revolution most of the public were unable to read very well and so this makes it more readable for them.
Unlike the chalk boards I have previously analysed, there is a variety of typestyles on this set of banners; I can see quite a fair amount of serifs, and this is quite unusual because the designs on banners I have looked at before mostly used sans serif. This might be due to the trends occurring during the time of this poster as they loved mixing up type styles and serifs.
They've also created a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, and this makes the design look slightly clumsy because I can't figure out if it's a way of highlighting a specific word to make it seem more prominent or if it's just for aesthetic appeal. The ones that are fully made up of uppercase letters look 'shouty' and loud, and even though I have used quite a lot of uppercase letters I made it appear soft, but here most of the type have a rigid structure and sharp edges. Some of the type flows a lot better such as "artist" as it is slightly cursive and italic, bending with the banner, but "oil and watercolours" is very 'strong'.
Conclusion:
What I do like about the type though despite it's chaotic appearance is that they curve parallel to the curve of the banner so that it does look as if it's printed on it rather than just having the type float atop of it. This shows a blend of both illustration and type, as both are closely tied together.
Unfortunately I was unable to find out who was the original design behind this piece, so if anyone knows who it is please let me know! I hate not being able to find the right reference, so for now I've just linked the place where I found it from.
Ello Mate - https://www.behance.net/ellomate
Letterpress is still quite popular in the design industry, and here's an example of a fairly recent poster design that advertises Pedro's Meatball Subs done in 2012.
Like in the previous poster design, they've also mixed together multiple type styles although here they seem to all appear quite similar. The cap height is relatively tall and the width relatively small, making the letterforms with these characteristics very elongated. The few without these characteristics look squashed in comparison and are at a larger size to match the width of these "tall" letters. This makes the "squashed" ones appear quite dominant as they are filled in with a single colour, providing a strong structure as it almost grants support to the "tall" ones. This is emphasised by the words being aligned on both sides.
Almost everything is in uppercase which makes this one a lot easier to read because the general 'tone' is the same. It's quite loud from the use of uppercase, mimicking the call from the trader as they announce their stall to passers-by in hopes of persuading them to buy their food. They start off soft by the use of a cursive type, then loud, then soft at some of the small phrases, loud at highlighted words, then end with a soft tone by using the cursive type again.
The colour scheme is fairly consistent as they have stuck with three colours; red, black and cream. This only persuades me even more to limit my design to only three colours. Red seems like a popular colour choice... Maybe it's because it's so bold and "outgoing"?
Conclusion:
I like this strong structure and the use of similar typefaces with only subtle details to set them apart. Even though my quote wouldn't be long enough for such a structure I can take inspiration by the letterforms themselves, especially the "tall" ones and the ones with shading.
Clawhammer - http://clawhammer.ca/typography/nimblefingers/
The poster here featured here breaks away from the rigid structure shown in the previous design, as the words aren't aligned on both sides but appear to have a centre alignment. Normally this would make the poster look slightly messy but due to the somewhat unusual composition, it isn't so. This design seems to lean more to the illustrative side with it's elaborate banners and ampersand, and the little star between the two dates.
The main letterforms are quite illustrative as well because, for example in "music", the shading isn't simply just a filled in block colour but has small hashes/stripes instead. These stripes are parallel to the texture of the banner and of the background for the ampersand, which brings the whole design together. This texture is very similar to wood, and as I'm not too sure when this poster was produced this could reflect the wood cut images used during the Industrial Revolution.
I looked back at the image source and it's actually a fairly recent design... So maybe this woodcut effect was deliberate so that it appeared more vintage?
The type featured in the main headline is a form of a slab-serif, and this reminds me of American theatres and circuses. However the strong structure of the slab-serif contrasts heavily with the handwritten type beneath it which hasn't any serifs to support it. This is emphasises by the way the handwritten type is set; it is almost trying to fit just beneath the motif just above it, getting larger when there is more space and smaller when there isn't.
Conclusion:
I'm not too keen on this structure as a whole but I do like the woodcut effect produced on the main headline. I also like how they drew the banner although I would like mine to be a lot more fluid to reflect tea.
Once again they have used a limited colour palette, and one of the main colours is very bold. It seems that red/orange is indeed a very popular colour in poster design!
Multiple Owners - https://www.behance.net/JasenMelnick,
Even though this isn't a letterpress poster they have still used letterpress for this car design, and this is a key example of how much letterpress has developed as it shows that we are now able to do more fluid forms. There isn't any hint of a strict structure or barriers to prevent the type spilling over the edge, and the type doesn't have an invisible straight line to sit on. They are more decorative, more calligraphic, and definitely a lot thinner than previous designs I've analysed.
I actually prefer this design because of the decoration on the main type, especially the way they've shaded "Merry" with hash-lines similar to the previous design. This effect creates a softer shadow than a block colour, making it appear friendlier and light which reflects the whole purpose of this card. Even though "Merry" is all in uppercase it doesn't appear too bold and 'shouty' because of this soft shadow and the way they've filled the centre in white to make the type look thinner than it actually is. The colour also helps dampen this bold word as the red isn't deep, leaning more on the pink side than orange.
Speaking of colours, they are all quite soft because of the fact that they are the muted versions. The grey isn't a dark grey but more of a white-grey mixture, and they've used a limited colour palette. The use of muted greys and reds makes the white background appear less harsh than it would do but creates a somewhat "glow", much like snow.
Conclusion:
I love the way they've decorated their letterforms and would like to do something similar in my design, as I wouldn't want it to be too bold. The use of muted colours reflect the softness of snow and I could use a similar technique in my design to reflect the soothing effect tea has on the drinker.
Other Inspirational Posters
I also took some photos of type while I was waiting for the bus. The photos aren't that great quality as it was pretty dark by then.
The "Quality Shoe Repairs" is a perfect example of chalk lettering, and I've included other chalk lettering styles in a previous post. Here they have used the different-coloured-shading technique that I had picked up on earlier, and I tried this aspect out when I was busy sketching at work. I would love to use this technique in my final design because it's quite unusual.
What really caught my eye in the poster advertising the ice skating rink was the words "Christmas Is Here". Everything had been done slightly different - such as the sizing of the little lights - but they don't overwhelm the whole of the piece. These little lights would be perfect for me if I wanted to add a bit of excitement to my design, and it does remind me of American diners for some reason... I think I'll look this up in another inspiration post.
The colours they've used are quite vibrant and eye catching, and the reflection created (on what I assume is the ice) emphasises the glow around the letters and makes it appear more magical. This sense of magic reflects what Christmas is all about!
This glow could also show the warmth of Christmas and I tend to think of a blazing fire at the fireplace that everyone's huddle around. The lights could then be the little flames or even party lights!
What really caught my eye in the poster advertising the ice skating rink was the words "Christmas Is Here". Everything had been done slightly different - such as the sizing of the little lights - but they don't overwhelm the whole of the piece. These little lights would be perfect for me if I wanted to add a bit of excitement to my design, and it does remind me of American diners for some reason... I think I'll look this up in another inspiration post.
The colours they've used are quite vibrant and eye catching, and the reflection created (on what I assume is the ice) emphasises the glow around the letters and makes it appear more magical. This sense of magic reflects what Christmas is all about!
This glow could also show the warmth of Christmas and I tend to think of a blazing fire at the fireplace that everyone's huddle around. The lights could then be the little flames or even party lights!
The Schweppes advert shows that sans serif does work best in a banner because it's simple and can easily fit in the spaces provided. This only enforces the idea of using sans serif in my "Never give in and never give up" design, although I would like to add a hint of texture or a 3D appearance to make it more interesting. I think I might also look at different ways to draw the banner and make it appear more interesting.
Conclusion:
I am quite inspired by the ice skating advertisement and would like to create a sort of glow around one of my quotes or illustrations to reflect the warmth that tea brings to the drinker. I also like the little lights dotted within the words, as it just makes the 3D type more interesting.
I have actually drawn inspiration from the three posters/advertisements in my previous post when I was sketching at work.
Overall Conclusion: [3]
Looking more into decorative forms has inspired me to do something other than block shading in my designs, and I would like to experiment with this a bit more. If I did a different shading technique it might overwhelm my design so I would have to choose two techniques at the most.
[n] Learning Outcome
Conclusion:
I am quite inspired by the ice skating advertisement and would like to create a sort of glow around one of my quotes or illustrations to reflect the warmth that tea brings to the drinker. I also like the little lights dotted within the words, as it just makes the 3D type more interesting.
I have actually drawn inspiration from the three posters/advertisements in my previous post when I was sketching at work.
Overall Conclusion: [3]
Looking more into decorative forms has inspired me to do something other than block shading in my designs, and I would like to experiment with this a bit more. If I did a different shading technique it might overwhelm my design so I would have to choose two techniques at the most.
[n] Learning Outcome
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